Captain Edward Sparklebeard
by mooji-snarf
Summary: Edward has finally done what he was so fearful of doing. How will he react when he loses someone so dear to him?


I stare down at the crumpled form of my love lying helplessly in my arms. Her clothing is shredded and her body is covered in deep crimson blood; I stop breathing for fear of further destroying her lifeless body. Once again I have harmed Bella through my selfless desires to be with her. But this time she is not going to tell me that it is not my fault. To console me. She is gone. I feel…dead, despite the fact that I have already been dead for over a hundred years.

A hand appears on my shoulder; I shrug it off. I do not deserve to be comforted. I carefully carry my love to the lounge chair before laying her carefully upon it. I feel an overpowering wave of grief flood over me, before I crumple to my knees and I feel my body shake with dry sobs.

"Edward. Edward darling, this isn't your fault…" Esme whimpers, as I cut her off.

"Do not speak such foolery. Of course the fault is mine. I impregnated her and I had the opportunity to prevent the entire situation. But I did not. I was too selfish" Anger begins to sweep over me as I wonder what would have happened if I had gone with my original desire. I cannot believe that I thought that maybe, just maybe, Bella might be strong enough to spawn a monster. I was clearly out of my mind.

"Edward, if you're going to blame anyone, blame me. I told you there might be a chance that Bella would survive. I…misjudged" Carlisle hung his head. I did not believe him. I was at fault for doing what I did with Bella, not Carlisle. He had not done what I had done with Bella. Such sin.

"The only reason my love is dead is because I wanted to do what was best for her. I clearly do not know what is best for her. Certainly not me." The anger had completely taken over the grief. My hands were clenched into fists, the skin over my knuckles white with tension.

"Edward, don't be too hard on yourself. Renesmee needs you there for her. Bella would have wanted you to be strong… for her child…" Esme whispered. They are right. I do take almost all of the blame for this, but if that demon had loved Bella as I had, she would have let herself die for her mother. Instead of clawing her way out in order to survive. I know what I have to do. I know what is best for Bella. I just hope they do not meet in the future. I highly doubt it, since Bella is in heaven. I hear someone talking upstairs.

"Little 'Renesmee. So beautiful…Just like Daddy…I think Daddy is a little upset at the moment… I'm sure he will come around eventually though. Finally it's just you, us and Daddy" I hear Rosalie coo. I hear a new voice. If I had a heart, my pulse would have quickened, for I thought I had heard Bella's pleasant ringing voice again… The anger returns as soon as it left. I realise that the voice must belong to the child.

"Where is Mummy?" If possible, my fists clench tighter and I squeeze my eyes tightly shut. It has to be now. I may have to find my way around Rosalie, but I cannot think of any substantial reason as to why she should deny the child's father from seeing his 'newborn'. I open my eyes and stand up briskly, startling my family.

"I want to see the child…" I sigh. "Renesmee". Carlisle and Esme exchange quick glances.

"Maybe we should wait until you have…calmed down a little" Carlisle suggested fearfully. I peer into his mind for a moment to discover what his inhibitions are. My own mind automatically creates the most believable lie to sidestep his protectiveness.

"Carlisle, do you honestly think I would hurt something that is a part of me? A part of Bella?" I feel a pang of guilt wash over me. My chest feels like a knife is being stabbed into me at the mention of her name. Carlisle sighs and lets out a smile. Esme still looks pained.

"Of course not Edward! I…don't know what I was thinking. She is in Rosalie's room with her." I swallow nothing and leave the room and walk towards the stairs. There's another security problem though. Jasper. He is lingering at the top of the stairs, searching me questioningly for any evidence of misdemeanour. He is believes that I am going to attack either Rosalie or Renesmee. I am glad that he cannot read my mind. I feel calm stretch over me, which I try to replace with indignation. Jasper is still screening my emotions.

"Jasper, you can calm down. Carlisle trusts me with my own…child" I shudder, as Jasper lifts an eyebrow at my swift adjustment of feeling. I march up the staircase and past Jasper, who continues to stare after me. I reach Rosalie's bedroom, edging the door open with a small 'creak'. Rosalie leaps in front of the bed and assumes a defensive crouch, trying to hide something. She is growling menacingly at me, teeth bared. I laugh.

"Rosalie, do you think I could have escaped from Carlisle, Esme, Alice and Emmett without their permission?" Her becomes more relaxed and her fierce stance lessens somewhat.

"They trust an enraged monster to come up here to see his vulnerable human daughter only 30 minutes after his wife dies" She scoffed. I stop for a second. The child is vulnerable? Suddenly I feel...bad? But in any case, she is obviously not too vulnerable to claw her way out of her mother.

"The child is my daughter, Rosalie. Do you honestly think I would hurt her?" I suggested playfully.

"Yes." She replied, point blank and not backing down, her arms crossed against her chest. I growled deep in my throat. "I don't care if Carlisle trusts you. I am a woman and am therefore a better judge of whether or not you are calm enough to see your daughter. I know you are not that attached to her, Edward. You call her 'the child'. What will stop you from hurting her?" I hear what sounds like Bella in my head again.

"Who is that man? I think I like him" I gasp loudly.

"What happened?" Jasper bursts through the door, eyes flickering between Rosalie and me, searching for clue for my outburst.

"I…I heard her…in my head" I admit, shocked. Rosalie smiled appreciatively, turning around to the bed to lift something up. She holds a small child in her arm; head nestled shyly in Rosalie's shoulder. She looks up and upon discrediting me as a threat, gives me a wife smile. The child is positively…beautiful. Tight bronze ringlets fall around her heart shaped face to her shoulders. She has huge, bright green eyes and extremely long dark eyelashes. Her beautiful magenta cheeks are extremely defined and for a child, she has very accurate bone structure.

"But how can she be so… advanced in growth?" Rosalie is still grinning, realising that maybe the threat has been reduced. Jasper has started to relax, even letting a small smile play on his lips.

"Oh, Carlisle thinks she will probably grow very quickly. She will be fully grown by 17." I process the information before throwing Jasper a puzzled look. He immediately throws a wave of calm over me, as a precaution. The child starts reaches her arms towards me, making grabbing motions with her not so tiny hands.

"Can I hold her...?" I ask quietly. "Just for one moment?" Rosalie takes one step towards me with the child in her arms, but Jasper holds out a hand in front of her. He watches me for a moment, before withdrawing his hand. She passes the child to me and I grasp her tightly, but not so much to crush her. Rosalie stays very close as I cradle her slightly in my arms. Renesmee puts her hand through my hair I hear her think that she likes the feel of it. I laugh a little. She lowers her hands, placing them in either side of my face, grasping quite tightly. I panic as my mind fills with images of Bella in her last moments, skin on her stomach wide open and bleeding and her spine twisted in unmentionable ways. She is whiter than me, and her eyes are bloodshot as she looks up at me pleadingly, blinking profusely as she loses consciousness.

"Do it now, Edward!" Jacob yells as terrified expression lingers on his face. I lunge for the syringe, sinking it into Bella's neck, before biting down as close to her heart as I can. I release from her neck and look for any sign that the venom is working. She lays on the makeshift hospital bed, limp. Nothing is happening. Jacob looks up at me panicked, expectantly. I continue to stare at her.

"No." I mutter. She still does not move. I drop the syringe and collapse on my knees. "Bella sweetheart?" I shake her shoulder slightly, but she slumps back into her original position. Through the corner of my eye I see Jacob back out of the room slowly, before quietly shutting the door. "BELLA?"

I growl and throw Renesmee across the room, where she hits the wall and slides down. Rosalie screams and makes for Renesmee but I push her back and lunge at the child myself, sinking my teeth into the soft flesh of her neck. Jasper jumps at me and soon I am being dragged away by both him and Emmett, who joined in after hearing the kerfuffle from downstairs. Alice sprints across the room from the doorway, pushing me against the wall, hand to my neck. There is no point struggling.

***TENSE-CHANGE***

I surveyed the room. My daughter was lying limp at the bottom of the wall, while my wife was on the couch, a sheet covering her lifeless body. Rosalie and Emmett were standing over Renesmee, cradled by Jacob, panic and grief etched onto their marble faces. Jasper was standing self-consciously behind Alice, ready to defend her if need be. Esme stood next to me, hands clamped over her mouth, while Carlisle comforted her with an arm around her shoulders. My adopted family, sharing a bond closer than a human family could ever achieve in their short lifespan. I had betrayed them. I had betrayed everyone. I made up my mind then. Shoving Alice back just hard enough to loosen her grip on me, I sped out the door.

'Edward, wait!' I heard Jacob's voice, reasoning out loud, panicked in his head.

'Let him go.' Said Rosalie, coldly.

I slowed to a human sprint when I reached the docks, remembering to pant with exhaustion as I approached the ticket office.

'One, please.'

'The next ferry isn't for another hour.' I cursed violently, much at the alarm of the ticket vendor. Still, my family wouldn't come for me. They hated me, and quite rightly. I had taken away their newest and most precious relatives. For the next hour, I sat completely motionless, chasing off the waves of grief that threatened to engulf me. No-one seemed to notice that I didn't blink once, didn't breathe, didn't move so much as an eyeball. I didn't care who saw me anymore, but it was lucky that no-one did. The crowd began accumulating. As soon as I saw the ferry approach, a beautiful reproduction of a 17th century frigate, I edged my way to the front of the crowd with a little force, ignoring the complaints of several middle-aged women. The bridge was connected with the harbor, and the crew went to tie it down. I turned to the crowd and hissed viciously. Alarmed, the crowd backed off. I dashed onto the ship and sent the bridge tumbling into the waves, before tackling the man with the rope. Shouts of fury and confusion were heard on the dock, as well as from the ship. I stormed onto the deck, and found the 'captain' at the wheel, dressed gaudily as a children's pirate. I sent him the way of the bridge.

'Gentlemen' I addressed the crew loudly and clearly. 'Set sail for the South-West, we're going tropical. From now on, you are my crew and will obey me. Insubordinance will be met with a quick and painful death, is this understood?' Silence. '_I said is this understood?'_ I roared. The crew replied meekly.

'Yes, captain.'

'You there!' I pointed at a young man. 'Take off your breeches!' He froze, obviously terrified. I frowned, before stripping myself of my own raiment and handing them to him. He took it, before removing them from his person and replacing them with my own. I snatched them up and wore them myself. They were glorious, well-fitted, slightly worn, and majestically beautiful. I struck an adventurous pose, as the ship drifted away from the docks. There was screaming down below, but I ignored it. I stood at the head of the ship. We sailed. The day was beautiful, sky awash with bluish-grey, the sun struggling and failing to peer out from behind the cobalt curtains. We sailed towards the horizon, the dock shrinking out of sight. Eventually, a desperate underling, hardly older than 18, approached me, clutching his cap in despair.

'Sir...Captain...You don't honestly expect us to sail away from our homes.'

'I do indeed, boy.'

'But there's no electricity or signal on this ship.'

'Nor do we need it. Your loved ones will presume you dead. Still, keep your nose clean, and you may see them again.' The boy lost his temper suddenly.

'Who the hell do you think you are?!' I thought about this. Who was I? More importantly, who was I to become? I had left my loved ones behind. I didn't plan to see them again. I was not the same Edward who loved his Bella so devotedly.

'I am Edward Sparklebeard, notorious captain of the Bellarina.' And with that, I turned and strode to my cabin below deck.


End file.
